Building being demolished after Dickson City restaurant's roof collapses

Jason Farmer / Staff Photographer
Emergency demolition crews tear down the snow-damaged three-story building at 741 Main St., Dickson City, that housed Mei Mei Chinese Restaurant on the first floor and vacant apartments on the remaining two.

The weight of a winter's worth of snow proved too much for the roof of a Dickson City restaurant, causing it to cave in overnight Saturday.

Emergency demolition crews began taking down the three-story building at 741 Main St. early Sunday afternoon. The building housed Mei Mei Chinese Restaurant on the first floor and vacant apartments on the remaining two, Dickson City Police Chief William Bilinski said.

When officers responded to a call about low-hanging wires on nearby Storrs Street at 5 a.m. Sunday, they noticed the building's walls "buckling toward the street," Chief Bilinski said. Officers soon discovered the roof had collapsed "inwards" under the weight of snow.

Chief Bilinski said the restaurant was closed and no one was inside at the time.

During Sunday's demolition, the 700 and 800 blocks of Main Street, the 800 block of Boulevard Avenue, and the 500 block of Storrs Street were closed for safety, Chief Bilinski said. He said Sunday night that Main Street and Boulevard Avenue had reopened, but crews were due to return to the area this morning and the 500 block of Storrs will remain closed until cleanup is complete.

The building was the second reported collapsed in Lackawanna County in the past few days. On Thursday, the weight of the snow buckled a wall at Quality Perforating Inc.'s manufacturing facility on Dundaff Street in Carbondale. A 50-foot by 40-foot section of the 85,000-square-foot cinderblock building's roof collapsed.

Stressed roofs

This is the kind of winter when paying attention to snow loads on roofs is a good idea, said Rich Barbolish, Emergency Management Coordinator for Lackawanna County.

"It adds up, it builds up throughout the winter," Mr. Barbolish said of the snow load, adding. "We haven't really had any warm weather to melt it, so it just keeps piling up."

Mr. Barbolish advised those who may be concerned about the amount of snow on their roofs, not to go up and look or try to remove it themselves.

"Contact a professional, somebody that could help out like a roofing company. Someone used to working on a roof," he said. "On a dry day it's dangerous to be on a roof. With weather like this, it's slippery. I wouldn't advise anybody to go up on a roof."

Mr. Barbolish, who said he also heard of the collapse of a carport in Throop, said it's likely other structures like carports and sheds without a lot of support should be checked out.

He also advised those with flat roofs and older structures to consider having them checked out.

FEMA offers a flyer summarizing warning signs of overstress conditions during a snow event, key safety issues and risks a snow event poses to buildings. It can be found in PDF form at www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1857-25045-4422/fema_snow_load_safety_guidance.pdf.

Mr. Barbolish said the flyer contains the warning: "Snow removal is a dangerous activity that should only be done by qualified individuals following safety protocols to minimize risks. If at any time there is concern that snow loads may cause a collapse of the roof structure, cease all removal activity and evacuate the building."

Mr. Barbolish said the flyer is a good source of information on warning signs, risks and safety measures for snow removal.

Forecast issues

While this week's weather forecast does not include adding significantly to the snowfall that hit Northeast Pennsylvania last week, warmer temperatures are on their way. That could cause snow to melt, bringing issues of its own.

AccuWeather meteorologist Dan DeTodwin said this week will start cold, with today's temperatures in the 20s.

Temperatures will climb into the 30s on Tuesday, he said, warming to the low 40s by Wednesday. Thursday's temperatures will stay steady in the low 40s, Mr. DeTodwin said. He predicted temperatures as high as 50 degrees on Friday.

A defrost like this, he said, could cause melting issues like "ponding" in roads and flooding of poor drainage areas. "There may be some ice jams in rivers. There may be a bit of rain late Thursday night, and that may add to the melting."

Contact the writer: sscinto@timesshamrock.com, @sscintoTT on TwitterWarning signs a roof is overstressed

Overstressed roofs typically display some warning signs. Wood and steel structures may show noticeable signs of excessive ceiling or roof sagging before failure. FEMA offers the following warning signs, which it is says are common in wood, metal and steel constructed buildings:

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